Rival exec on Cavs: No idea what’s going on, ‘but it ain’t good’

December 15, 2023

Injuries. Unfriendly schedule. A .500 record. That is where the Cavaliers are today and it cannot be debated.

It’s still early, but people are beginning to question if the Cavs (14-12) will eventually come around. Some clearly have their doubts.

“I have no idea what the hell is going on there,” one opposing executive told Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports. “But it ain’t good.”

Now, in the Cavs’ defense, they had won nine of 12 before their current trip along the East Coast, which featured two straight games against the Boston Celtics. They lost both, and a game at the Orlando Magic before that. They beat the Miami Heat to start the swing.

All four games came without starting power forward Evan Mobley, who is now expected to miss six to eight weeks after knee surgery (story). But that’s been the story of the first quarter of the season — already, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade have missed games because of injury. Newcomer Ty Jerome (ankle) hasn’t played since October.

And now Garland is set to miss several weeks with a broken jaw, suffered against Boston on Thursday.

All of it led one opposing scout to joke to Hoops Wire before the latest Garland injury: “They either have the dumbest luck or most in-tune medical staff in the league.”

But that was a joke, and injuries are serious business. As coach J.B. Bickerstaff has said, it’s better that the Cavs have players sidelined now than in the second part of the season.

Nonetheless, the opposing exec who spoke to Bulpett — a former Boston Herald Celtics beat writer — said more than just injuries are haunting the Cavs. And he suggested it dates back to last year’s first-round playoff exit vs. the New York Knicks. The Cavs lost in five games and were mostly dominated in four of them.

“Their energy, their body language, their swagger — it was just pitiful,” the exec told Bulpett. “It was so bad. I’ve never seen a team that good have such bad body language.

“They’ve got real talent, but you could just see it early in the series that they had no confidence in one another. Just no swagger. Even in front of their home crowd. Nothing.”

Of course, all of this has only added to the rumors that Mitchell is looking to land with the New York Knicks as soon as humanly possible. Mitchell has given no indication that that’s the case, focusing solely on the business at hand. A fantastic teammate and locker room guy, the All-Star guard generally remains upbeat even when things are less than ideal.

“We have the pieces,” Mitchell told Bulpett. “I think it’s just a matter of getting on the same page as a group.

“You know, I can sit here and give you all these answers, but we’ve got to go out there and put the consistency of work in, you know, in games. We put the work in in our off time, but all of us collectively as players and coaches, we’ve all got to get on the same page. I think it’s just something we’ve got to find a way to do.”

Mitchell went on to say he’s “not deflated” despite the fact Cleveland has yet to live up to expectations are match its run of last season. After all, again, it is indeed early, with 56 games remaining.

“We’ve got to figure this thing out. That’s it,” Mitchell said. “That’s all you can really do. Find ways. That’s it. It’s tough obviously, you know, winning a few, losing a few, but we’re not going to quit. We’re going to keep going.”

The Cavs now have four straight and five of seven at home. They also play six straight home games from Jan. 3-17.

So if we’re going to question the state of things, that would be the time to do it — in the middle of January. And from the sounds of things, that’s about when Garland would return and the Cavs will have another chance to be whole.